Software I've Used

This page is designed to document information about different programs/services I've used and how well they've worked for me.

Active Use

Operating Systems

My operating system of choice is Arch Linux with the KDE Plasma desktop environment. I like regular updates, and I've noticed far more stability with Arch than with its derivatives. I also prefer style of Qt applications over Gnome.

For my servers, my choices are often either Debian Linux or Rocky Linux.

Desktop Programs

Despite what minor gripes I may have with Mozilla, I still believe Firefox is the best browser at the moment. I use a variety of extensions such as uBlock Origin, Stylus, and KeePassXC-Browser. My backup browser is vanilla Chromium.

For basic text editing, I default to either nano or KDE Kate depending on if I'm in the terminal or not. For all my time spent editing Python scripts, I've not had the need to use a "real" editor except when I was in college.

If I'm editing Markdown files specifically, I two GUI programs of choice: QOwnNotes and ReText. If I'm working on multiple files from the same project (such as with this website, or my personal knowledgebase), I'll use QOwnNotes. If I'm working on just one Markdown file, I'll use ReText.

At the times that I need to edit video, I use Kdenlive. Video playback is all done with VLC. My music library is weakly organized in Clementine.

I make great use of Anki for memorizing everything from Japanese to the completion year of the St. Jacques concordance. I use mozc+fcitx5 for Japanese input.

Server

I've used both Apache HTTPd and NGINX for a web server and have no preference between the two of them.

I don't run a lot of webapps on my web servers. The only three I keep at the moment are Nextcloud (with Tasks addon), FreshRSS, and Shaarli.

I also run Gitea on my LAN using a Raspberry Pi.

Previous Use

• Artix Linux: I use this on my laptop. I like the idea of keeping some distance from SystemD, but I sometimes worry how much support is going toward Artix.
• Manjaro: If I need Linux installed quickly and easily, this is what I'd use. However, I've had too much instability on Manjaro to recommend it for anyone who know how to install Arch.
• MX Linux / AntiX Linux: Used on a 32-bit laptop for... some reason? I've hardly used it, but its worked fine.
• Bunsenlabs Linux: Wonderful Debian-based Linux distro. I'm a fan of Crunchbang's style, and Bunsen continued that.
• Ubuntu Linux: Easier to use and with better defaults than Debian, but I can't recommend it after ver18.04 due to the emphasis on Snap. The only time I've used Snap was for the nmap package, and it didn't even work because of how Snap handles security. It doesn't make sense to me.
• Debian Linux: Great for servers or desktops that you want to make absolutely sure won't break. However, you also won't get new features in software for a very long time.
• Gentoo Linux: Installed it. Ran it for a week. Got tired of how long updates would take. I don't mind Gentoo; it was fun to install, and I learned a ton, but I don't think I'll use it again.
• Windows 7: Like Windows 10, but not getting security updates anymore.
• Chrome: Only installed to use Stadia.
• Geany: This one has suited my needs to the point that I've never had to look for another GUI text editor (outside of something dedicated to Markdown).
• Notepad++: The only good text editor for Windows.
• Openshot: It works, but KDenLive has a nicer interface and generally works better.
• ffmpeg: If I need to do media file conversions without non-linear editing, this is what I use. It's also great for compressing the output of KDen or Openshot.